Best, Easiest, and Cheapest No Weld Drift Trike

If you haven't heard of a Drift Trike before Drift Trikes are tricycles that have slick rear wheels, normally made from a hard plastic called pvc. They are usually ridden on paved roads with a steep downhill gradient and some corners. Me and some friends stumbled across a video on youtube of people riding and wanted to try it out.

Unfortunately we had some limitations. We did not want to go out and buy a huffy slider because it was too much money and the fun is always in the build. As we began to look around for instructions all of the trikes we saw needed to use a welder which we do not have access to. So I set out to design the cheapest trike I could while using no welding and still making it function perfectly and look good.

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Step 1: Find a Bike and Chop It

This actually was one of the harder parts just finding the right bike to use. I happened to find mine at a garage sale for $3. when selecting a bike the biggest thing is to find one long enough to fit you. After you get your bike the next step is to cut the top tube and the seat tube. Then take the rear axle bolt out of your rear wheel and put some pipe over it. This is where your rear axle will bolt to. I used 1" thick walled aluminum tube that i had laying around.

jacob1229 says: May 24, 2013. 6:19 AM

How did you connect the seat to the frame?

algviper (author) in reply to jacob1229May 24, 2013. 8:28 AM

I bolted a piece of wood to the frame and the seat to that piece of wood.

conor766 says: May 16, 2013. 7:27 PM

Can you please show how you put the back bar on. The bit under the seat.

Jednelson99 says: Apr 29, 2013. 5:15 PM

Can you explain how to make the rear axel better

algviper (author) in reply to Jednelson99May 1, 2013. 5:48 PM

i updated the axle sections let me know if you have any questions.

sdela cruz1 says: Apr 18, 2013. 9:37 PM

and im having trouble with the rear axel. i dont really understand how to make it

algviper (author) in reply to sdela cruz1May 1, 2013. 5:37 PM

My rear axle was built with what I had laying around and what fit my bike so there will be some variation with what works for yours. the way i made it was, i used a 1" solid aluminum bar for the rear axle. i then drilled center holes on each end and tapped them to take a 3/8" bolt. for the attachment to the bike i bolted a piece of pipe where the wheel went and attached the axle to that using U bolts.

sdela cruz1 says: Apr 18, 2013. 9:04 PM

I am planning on making a drift trike :D.Do you have a full list of parts you could tell me? like sizes and stuff of everything also. Thank you

Dr Qui says: Feb 13, 2013. 5:59 PM

To be road legal you require brakes, you cut off the V brake mounts, why do such a stupid thing? v brakes stop you much better than calipers. A drift trike falls into the same regulations a a bike and requires both brakes and reflectors to be allowed on public roads. Don't be surprised if you get told to get this off the road.

algviper (author) in reply to Dr QuiFeb 13, 2013. 8:31 PM

Not stupid at all actually with very little weight on the front wheel when brakes are applied the wheel just skids making you lose control. As for legality where we ride you just need to be able to stop within 30 with from a speed of 15 mph which is easily obtained using your feet and we use reflectors front and rear so we are good.

northcalgreens says: Oct 21, 2012. 11:29 PM

I wonder if utilizing a girls bike wouldnt work better
No need to cut the top tube only part of the down tube .looks like it could use a set of pegs in tye front and a weed eater engine on thw front wheel, i like the idea of having a pnumatic wheel in back to lock the sewer pipe on

algviper (author) in reply to northcalgreensFeb 13, 2013. 8:24 PM

The latest version of our plans actually use a girls bike frame. The ones we use have mountain bike width frames but still 20" wheels which makes them very sturdy.

Zeaky2 says: Nov 10, 2012. 11:54 AM

How long is the axle?

algviper (author) in reply to Zeaky2Feb 13, 2013. 8:21 PM

the axle is 30"

mi1ez says: Oct 21, 2012. 8:24 AM

would be even more awesome with a unicycle wheel for pedalling!

Dr Qui in reply to mi1ezFeb 13, 2013. 6:21 PM

Unicycle wheels have no freewheel in the hub, when the speed would get up you would have to pedal rotating like crazy cutting the shins and backs of your legs off.
You can use the front wheel from an old green machine like I did on my build, no Fred Flintstone shinanigins when starting of at the top of the hills or having to kick start and then drop into your seat.

FatApple says: Jan 3, 2013. 11:53 PM

What type of Bikes would you reccomend using. BMX, Mountain Bikes or other.

Dr Qui in reply to FatAppleFeb 13, 2013. 6:12 PM

BMX would probably be best, most people use 20" wheels though some guys like a larger mountain bike wheel, check the many many facebook groups for pictures of trikes, you wont see any like this one though, you will see allot of highly engineered trikes, many wheels with disc brakes and even trike with minti moto forks for serious braking power and in some cases full wishbone suspension, check out my trike post, nothing to glamorous other than a pedal wheel from a green machine, but i can get it to stop when needed

XenixHero says: Sep 19, 2012. 6:53 PM

Are there any stores that sell wheels? And where do you get the other parts like the aluminum pipe, PVC, and rear axle?

jgraznak in reply to XenixHeroOct 22, 2012. 9:02 AM

You can usually find dead lawnmowers at garage sales for less than you would pay for the wheels retail. They might even have some parts you use elsewhere. It is usually the deck that rusts out first and kills cheap mowers anyway.

carpespasm in reply to XenixHeroOct 21, 2012. 2:26 PM

Most hardware stores sell wheels for push mowers which would work, harbor freight would also have hand truck wheels too. If you can find inflatable wheels about the right size you could also let them down some and inflate them with the pipe on to hold them together

algviper (author) in reply to XenixHeroSep 19, 2012. 7:15 PM

You get the wheels based on your pvc size we had some 6" pvc laying around. We found our wheels online but farm and fleet has some. The aluminum pipe was extra I had laying around but you could probly get it at home depot. The rear axle I got from ebay.

darkmickey420 says: Oct 21, 2012. 4:35 PM

heck ya we put office chairs on lawn mowers motoer powerd trikes go carts u

toad says: Oct 21, 2012. 9:45 AM

pegs, you need pegs on the front wheel for somewhere to put your feet

john3347 says: Oct 21, 2012. 9:28 AM

You didn't cut the down tube. The down tube runs from the head tube to the bottom bracket (where the pedals originally were mounted). You removed the top tube and the seat tube, not the down tube.

To those who ask how you make this thing go: He said it was a "drift trike". This is another way to describe a coaster trike. You can only coast downhill. You don't want to find too much of a hill for this one tho because it has no brakes.

fretted says: Oct 20, 2012. 8:41 AM

Ok i'm lost how do you ride this thing ?

homestarrunner247 in reply to frettedOct 21, 2012. 9:12 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNZCZsHJIR8

meatchris says: Oct 21, 2012. 6:35 AM

I dunno bro, doesn't look to strong.

How about adding a length of metal from the steerer tube to the chainstays to get some triangle super-strength action going on?

If you can't weld, I reckon you could bolt it pretty easily.

Chuck some pegs on the front wheel too.